State of the Production Address

Good Morning.

Put quite simply, ETC's summer production of Godspell is in astoundingly great shape. I've seen other productions that would have done well to open at this stage of development: the cast is solid with their lines, their choreography, and their music. They could quite easily start performing this evening, three weeks early, if they had to. I've been there. It's exciting and terrifying and with the right mix of people, it still works, even without the tacit audience forgiveness that it is "community theatre".

But this isn't a high-volume pizza delivery business where they bake the pizzas for about half the time they should, leaving them to finish cooking in their delivery boxes on the way to your home, only to mask the doughy, undercooked crust with so much sauce and cheese that you don't care, because you're too damn hungry to.

Nope. We're going to work on this, just like we did last night. It was tedious, frustrating, mind-numbing, and indulgent, but it is what needs to happen to make this an extraordinary show.

We started off with publicity photos. I'd show you some here, but I promised to let the cast pick the headshot they wanted so I can clean them up. Once that's done, I'll post a montage here.

After that, we started at the top of the show and started filling in the gaps and tightening the bits. We worked through about a third of the show, coincidentally the most challenging parts. We got through the point where Kamahni blurts out "Oh, Jesus Chr..." and then Todd slaps him. Amberlee has a TON of work in this part of the script, and I have to give her credit for staying on task and keeping very focused. Of the half-dozen bits in the first third of the show, she's in over half of them: the unjust judge, the debt-ridden servant, the two brothers, and other incidental pieces. She has developed some great stuff on her own, and she is getting the additional stuff I'm layering on top of it without countering or arguing. And when we have to take a section again, she's right on top of it.

Sara also has a lot of work in this section, and she will have even more coming up in the middle third. She too takes direction well, and although I think she's hesitant when I ask her to do something that doesn't seem natural to her, she trusts my judgment. For instance, like many actors, she has learned that punctuating lines with movement helps drive home the goal of the character. But in the case of Godspell, you're not dealing with a smooth character arc: there's a ton of stylization in it that falls flat if you play it naturally. Sara is a very natural actress. So when I have her take lines out to the audience, it feels weird, and I understand that. But the look and clarity of the message is punctuated by the simplicity (lack) of movement. It's almost vaudvillian or melodramatic, but not perfectly. Anyway, she's trusting me on it, and I thank her for that.

Todd is also finding some nice breathing room within his abundance of lines. He and I spoke briefly afterwards at how satisfying detailed working sessions like these can be. Now, he was speaking from an actor's point of view, and I know that. When Lori Lee had asked for these sessions about a week ago, I knew that she was feeling the same anxiety that I had felt in the past as an actor, when not enough rehearsal time was given for such clarity and exploration. That is what this region of the rehearsal process is set aside for.

But, understand that it's also VERY satisfying to me as well. It gives me a chance to diddle with the "fine tune" knob on the radio to dial everything in very tightly. And, yeah, it's frustrating at times as well. There was one bit last night that was challenging for the whole cast to get. It involved Amberlee, Jessica, and Sara bowing before Lori Lee. Noah/Arryck deliver the narrative stating how the man had thrown himself at the master's feet, saying "Unnh!" The timing on this was crucial. First, Amberlee had already thrown herself down, followed shortly thereafter by Jessica and Sara, so we'd already had two bows, and I didn't want to loose the rhythm of that. Great bits always come in threes, so when I found out that Noah/Arryck state it again, I had my third bow, but it had to be punctuated precisely, with the remainder of the cast saying "Unnh!" right after the three ladies bowed yet again. We went through it at least ten times, with it finally hitting the mark exactly.

So why did I push so hard on that one little bit? Because audiences love comic symmetry. Three is the magic number, and comedy is no exception. Audiences also love precisely executed bits. It makes them feel like the production was very specifically crafted rather than just thrown together hap-hazardly. It's that whole stylization thing again, and it's why you can't just stroll through Godspell and hope it will work.

What else was great? Spanky. I love Spanky. He deviates from the script, ad libs, goofs off, but he gets away with it, because when he's ON he's TOTALLY ON. Case in point: in the opening sequence, with the eight philosophers, he was among the first to really take hold of his character. He just got it. He knows that the on-stage Spanky in Godspell is not the Paddy's Spanky, or the 3:00 AM at IHOP Spanky, or even the riding home after rehearsal in the back of Noah's car trying to keep the peace because I said something unflattering here or at rehearsal Spanky. He's a bit of each of those people, but something more: more interesting; more alive; more musical... something that people will want to come to a 52-seat theatre in the basement of a 100 year-old house in Oxnard and pay $20 a ticket to see.

That's what I'm working to accomplish.

And, to reiterate, it's working nicely. Yeah, I wish we had Bill and the guys here every day from here on out, but we can't. Sorry. Honestly, the cast doesn't need them yet, but they will be absolutely ready for them on Monday, June 5. I do commit to having the menhirs and masks done by this coming Monday's rehearsal. With Agnes of God onstage, it was simply impractical. The props are mostly done. There are a few lacking, but we'll get those next week. The percussion has taken a bit of a backseat to the menhirs and masks (and rehearsals and family and day job and pretty much everything else), but at the company meeting on Wednesday, Brian Harwell said that he's squared away now and can actually help us again. What's good is that I've had time to more clearly articulate what I need, so even if it's just for one evening where he helps us to get the rhythms and some feedback for me so I can make it sound more interesting, then so much the better.

I'm also going to schedule some time with Meghan Quilop to have her help me find the missing costume bits. I haven't had a chance to call her yet, but I'm hoping to have her come in next Tuesday or Wednesday to see what we're lacking.

I also have to now edit the photos and work on the posters. That's not a huge deal, as I have all the elements ready in my brain. I want to get a vinyl marquee poster that fits the size of the marquee and is impervious to rain and sun. That will happen in a week or so as well.

That's it, and thanks for your attention.


- Sean